The first time I saw Engineer was when they opened for fellow New Yorkers Another Breath. I had anticipated another youth crew styled band to be playing and I was absolutely astonished when they turned out the lights and performed the loudest set I'd ever seen. From then on I was a fan, no question.
For those of you unfamiliar, Engineer carries on in a similar fashion to Breather Resist, Deadguy, and Botch...but in a non-imitative sort of way. To be succinct, these guys aren't Norma Jean or anything. Their debut LP Reproach definitely had a lot more of the odd-time signature pull offs of We Are the Romans, but they seem to have evolved past that into more diverse territory. While they retain certain qualities of that sort of signature sound, mostly affected by the solid and inventive drumming of Mike AuClair, there are a lot more straightforward chord progressions than you typically find in "noisecore" bands. They infuse melody into their riffs without having the good cop/bad cop dynamic of more sophomoric bands, which for me is the subtlest dynamic on the record and provides the most depth. I mean, everyone wants something loud and heavy sometimes, but having something beyond that is what makes a record memorable and worthwhile.
There are times, though, where the cohesion of the record borders on the songs simply running together. This isn't to say the disc isn't dynamic, or doesn't have its moments where your ears perk up and you really take notice of what's going on, but it's the same complaint I have of Tragedy's Vengeance where the melodies are all a bit too similar. Maybe this is some sort of recurring theme done with intent, or maybe not, but it's not too large of a detractor.
Bob Gorham still sounds like a pit fighter from the eighth layer of hell and is definitely the most intimidating frontman I've ever seen. I would say that his vocals, while not entirely original or inconceivable, are the best at what they are and anyone else with a similar style just pales in comparison. The lyrics, continuing on from Reproach are vague and deal mostly with abjection and enigmatic masculine imagery. I'd love to interview him and get a better idea of where he's coming from with this because as is, I scratch my head a little.
At first my opinion of this record vacillated between "I wish it sounded more like Reproach" to, "this is really interesting." Now fortunately after a mere thirty or so listens I can firmly attest that while I wouldn't have been displeased if this had been more of the same I am not disappointed in the direction Engineer has taken and they can anticipate my continued patronage.
